British taxpayers will be staggered at the level of these golden goodbyes

Jonathan Isaby - chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance

It provides salary for each month an MEP is in their post and cashes out at least six months worth of pay checks.

The maximum an MEP could receive is two years' salary, after leaving their seat in Brussels.

Chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, Jonathan Isaby, told the newspaper: "British taxpayers will be staggered at the level of these golden goodbyes.

"MEPs who either voluntarily step down or are deselected are in no way comparable to somebody being made redundant, because they are affectively on a five-year fixed term contract, subject to renewal by the the electorate.

"This is yet another example of public sector largesse which is completely unnecessary and unaffordable.

"The system urgently needs to be reformed."

MEPs who lose their seat will be handed a "transitional allowance" of at least £39,000 [GETTY]

Nikki Sinclaire, an MEP who is part of the We Demand a Referendum Now party, added: "This is just another example of why we the British people should determine whether this level of expenditure is worth it."

The outcry comes hot on the heels of another backlash last week, after it emerged taxpayers will have to fork out ?187million to pay for MEPs second pensions.

Details of the scheme can add tens of thousands of pounds a year to a retired MEP’s income and contribute towards a combined pension of up to ?82,000 a year for the longest-serving.

All the main UK parties in Brussels insist the funding gap should be met without more public money.

But legal documents suggest taxpayers will have to fork out.

The payoff has been blasted as "completely unnecessary and unaffordable" [EXPRESS]

Nearly 40 of Britain’s 73 serving MEPs are understood to be members of the European Parliament’s Additional Voluntary Pension Scheme, including Ukip leader Nigel Farage, the leader of Conservative MEPs, Syed Kamall, and the leader of the European Parliamentary Labour Party, Glenis Willmott.

Membership can net an MEP as much as ?41,000 a year on top of the main taxpayer-funded basic EU pension of ?13,760 a year for five years’ service.

The European elections will take place on Thursday May 22 in the UK, with a Sunday Times/YouGov poll showing Ukip have surged into the lead, three points ahead of Labour and 12 points ahead of the Tories.

The Liberal Democrats have been warned they face losing all 12 of their MEPs if their poll ratings do not improve.